Silver Bullets
by WatchMeSoar
Summary: Post season 13. The team gets a new probie. McGee deals with the loss of his friend and mentor. Oh, and a case attracts the attention of two rather unorthodox FBI agents who give more questions than they do answers. Rated for later (minor) gore.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: Welcome, to my first crossover. I understand that I've got a lot of other stories that I should be updating, by I've his something of a writer's block and I really need to get these newer ideas down before I go back and finish my older stuff-which WILL happen, I promise.**

 **I own neither _NCIS_ nor _Supernatural_**

The last time Tim McGee had had to read this many job applications, Tony had been there with him.

The process was grueling, and the absence of his long-time partner in crime, so to speak, was weighing heavily on his mind. Especially because he was, for all intents and purposes, choosing his replacement.

A new Probationary Agent was not a problem, not really; McGee remembered clearly his days as a green agent and what it took to feel like he was accepted into the team and the agency. Bringing newbie onto the team put him, as SFA, in the position of the one doing the hazing, rather than being the hazee. He'd learned from the best.

There were plenty of promising applicants, to his pleasant surprise. It would be Gibbs' final choice, but McGee was sure there was at least one person in the pile he'd put together that his boss would approve of.

As if summoned, Gibbs walked into the near-empty squad room. "It's late, McGee. Go home."

"I've finished going through the applicants, Boss."

Gibbs looked at him, nodding a bit. "Bring 'em in tomorrow. I'll talk to them."

Tim nodded, put the files in a desk drawer, and turned off the lamp on top of his desk. Tony's desk.

III

The following day, there was a steady stream of crying hopefuls running through the squad room and down the stairs. Bishop was beyond confused. McGee expected nothing less.

"It's normal," he had told her, when she'd looked freaked out, "Gibbs just knows what he's looking for."

Eventually Gibbs found Megan Woods. McGee remembered her file; she seemed able enough, with previous experience in the NYPD. a tough looking girl, not taller than him but larger in stature than Bishop was. Thankfully, not a redhead.

As she came in the next morning with a box of her belongings and began to set up at Tim's old desk, Ellie took the initiative. "You must be Agent Woods," she greeted, extending her hand, "I'm Ellie Bishop."

Woods took the offered hand with a smile, "It's nice to meet you, Special Agent Bishop."

"Call me Ellie."

A phone rang, and Tim answers swiftly. "McGee," he said. the two women watched him, and his eyes traveled up to meet theirs. Bishop understood, and moved to her own desk, but Woods just stood there looking bewildered.

"Got it, Boss," McGee said, and hung up. He stood, "Ellie, call Ducky. Gibbs will meet us there."

"On it."

Woods still hadn't moved, "What's going on?"

McGee called back to her, he and Bishop already halfway to the elevator, "Gear up, Woods. We've got a body."

III

The term "body" may have been a little too forgiving.

Gibbs had beaten them to the site—a trail to a secluded campground in Shenandoah National Park—and once their sedan had come to a stop he'd sent Bishop and Woods to secure the area and talk to the couple who'd called it in. He took McGee to see the remains.

Inside a shallow cave, damp with morning dew and something far less pleasant, was a pile of…well, it looked like melted human.

"…Boss?"

"Yeah, McGee?"

"We've seen some weird things."

"Yeah, McGee."

Among the organic sludge were the remnants of the uniform of a Petty Officer, no ID, no tags. It was just like someone had taken a step, and…fallen out of their skin. McGee didn't know what to do but start taking pictures.

Ducky arrived soon thereafter, already regaling Jimmy with stories of his youth in Scotland. Gibbs met up with them.

"Won't need a gurney, Duck."

"Whatever do you mean, Jethro? I was specifically told that there was a body."

"Something like that," he said, and lead the M.E. to the scene.

"Oh, dear," Ducky said. "Perhaps Mr. Palmer and I could make use of some of your evidence bags?"

McGee chimed in then, "I'll take care of it, Ducky."

"Thank you, my boy."

As Tim walked away he could hear the doctor launch into another tale; "You know, this reminds me of a rather educational experience I had with my childhood friend, Arnold. You see, he was a bit too enthusiastic the fist time he was tasked with defeathering the Christmas turkey…"

McGee shook his head and waved over Agent Woods. When she got close enough to the remains, to her credit, she didn't flinch away. Or hurl.

"Go to the car," McGee said, "and get the evidence bags."

"How many?"

"All of them."

"…"

"…It's for Ducky."

"Oh. I'm on it."

As she left, Ellie came over. She gestured to the small gourd of people a ways behind her. "Those are the hikers that found the body. The two men are brothers, those are their wives. they didn't see anything, just went exploring and found…whatever you call that."

"'That' is what is left of a Petty Officer, Bishop."

Properly chastised, she ducked her head. "Sorry," she said.

Tim nodded. "It is odd, though. Did they say anything about seeing any large animals?"

"You think it was an animal attack?"

"All I know is that I've never seen a human that could do that to another."

Agent Woods had beaten them back to Ducky with the evidence bags, and was now holding them open for Palmer to begin filling them. Ducky stood, "Unfortunately Jethro, I don;t have much to say as far as preliminary findings go. I'm afraid I can't determine any one reason that this might've happened."

"It's like the guy just shed his skin, like a reptile," Jimmy added, "We can't even identify any entrails."

"Yes, it is as Mr. Palmer said. Also, this substance covering it all…"

Gibbs took a stem closer to examine the stuff himself. "The goo covering it?"

"Precisely. I'll be sure to get a sample to Abigail."

"You got a time of death, Duck?"

Ducky shook his head. "Unfortunately not. As Mr. Palmer stated, there are no entrails, and therefore a liver probe is out of the question. The lack of insect activity tells me that it happened quite recently, though the smell indicates otherwise."

Gibbs turned. "Get it back to the lab, figure it out."

And so went the rest of the morning; trying to gather up everything, getting the hikers' contact information, all while everyone was thoroughly disturbed by the scene. McGee, still taking pictures of the area, found himself feeling more uncomfortable than usual. He was familiar with death, sad as it was. And he knew that this team, perhaps more than any other in the agency, saw some weird cases. But none were like this. It was just so…unnatural. They had no answers, no ideas. They didn't even know what the cause of death could have possibly been, by any stretch. It was eerie, and Tim wasn't sure why but this case was just starting to seem like they'd bitten off more than they could handle.

McGee shook his head to rid himself of his brooding thoughts. He had a job to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/n: The _Fortitude_ is, to my knowledge, not a real Navy vessel. If it is, or was, I don't own that either. **

"Whaddya got, Abs?"

"Gibbs!" she turned to him. "I have a name."

The music was louder than usual, Gibbs noticed, and he wondered what had brought that on. Usually meant that Abby was stuck on something. She had to shout a bit to give him the name.

"Petty Officer Alan Goldburg," she read off. "He failed to report aboard the _USS Fortitude_ eight days ago."

"That's good work, abs."

She looked at him then with annoyance, nit at him but at the rest of her news. "Yeah, okay, but I, like, went over all of his clothes that you found and I couldn't find and evidence of a weapon or an attack. There are no clean knife punctures, no gunpowder on the fabric." She sighed, "I'm trying to work my magic here, but I think you'll have to leave it to Ducky to tell you about the 'how' for this one."

Gibbs kissed her cheek and told her she did good again, and left for autopsy.

III

In the squad room, McGee, Bishop, and Woods were at their desks. McGee was sifting through Goldburg's history, looking for any reason the guy might be dead. Nothing. With his programs running, he figured now was as good a time as any to actually step up into the role or Senior Field Agent.

"Woods," he said suddenly, "what have you got?"

She startled at her name and took a moment to right herself, but did so quickly. "Nothing odd about his bank statements. No former criminal activity, not even a speeding ticket."

Bishop hung up her phone then, and said, "He was due to report back to the _Fortitude_ eight days ago. His family reported him missing a few days before the Navy noted his absence. His superiors have nothing bad to say about him, no known enemies. He enlisted when he turned eighteen; he's been on active duty for less than a year."

McGee nodded and was about to speak, when two Metro Detectives were escorted to his desk.

III

Ducky had about as much to offer as Abby did, much to Gibbs' annoyance and confusion.

"I'm sorry Jethro, but with the limited material we have to work with, a cause of death is virtually impossible to determine."

"How about how his outsides came off of his insides?"

"Well, it's odd," Ducky said, and looked troubled, "Mr. Palmer, if you'd be so kind?"

"Yes, Doctor," Jimmy said, and took a pair of tongs and held up a chunk of flesh, holding it out flat so that Gibbs and Ducky could see it clearly. Ducky adjusted the spyglass.

"See these marks here? Patterns like these indicate that the outer layer of flesh was stretched. Like, it was pulled off of the person's body. I can't find any indication that any tools or weapons were used to remove it. Honestly Jethro, I don't have the slightest idea how this came to happen."

The _swish_ of the automatic doors interrupted anything Gibbs would've said to that. Agent Woods walked in, again not batting so much as an eyelash at the sight of the remains. "Agent Gibbs, sir," she said, "Metro PD Detectives are upstairs. Agent McGee asked me to come find you."

Gibbs suppressed rolling his eyes; Metro cops weren't exactly his favorite people. As he left Ducky called after him that he'd keep looking for answers. Entering the elevator with Woods, he pressed the button and said to her, "Woods."

"Yes sir?"

"Don't call me 'sir'."

"Yes sir."

III

When McGee spotted Gibbs coming out of the elevator, Woods on his heels, he made sure to speak before the detectives could get a word in. "Boss, Metro PD found a body last Tuesday near a park area in Shenandoah National Park."

"What's that got to do with my case?"

McGee lowered his voice and stepped closer. "Boss, the DNA is a match to the remains we found yesterday."

The detectives couldn't be bothered with civility any longer. The taller of the two extended an arm around McGee to Gibbs, a practiced grin on his face. "Agent Gibbs, I'm Detective Moore, this is my partner Detective Lowe. We'll be sure to get the body to you as soon as possible."

"Our M.E.'s assistant will pick it up from Metro and accompany it back here," Gibbs said, not allowing them to fall into that trap. He passed the group and went to his desk. "Bishop."

Ellie immediately began to shoo the detectives out of the squad room, "Thank you so much for your help, we'll be sure to keep you updated, please be sure to send over those case files…"

McGee went up to Gibbs. "Boss, I've seen the pictures of the body. It's a positive match, but it…it can't be right. The full body has most of it's skin, with ears…I mean, I guess Ducky will figure it out but I've got a weird feeling about this, Boss."

Gibbs thought a moment. "You know where Metro found the body?"

"Yeah."

Gibbs got up, grabbed his phone. "Woods."

"Yes, sir?"

"…"

"…Gibbs?"

"You and Bishop talk to the family. Tell her when she gets back up here."

"Yes, Boss."

McGee grabbed his go-bag and followed Gibbs to the elevator. Gibbs tossed him the keys.

III

The small cave was near a public rest area of the park, secluded but close enough to activity that the body had been found pretty soon after death. McGee directed Gibbs to the exact area. The dying daylight offered little help, and with the uneven terrain they used their flashlights to light the way. "Right in here, Boss."

The cave was small enough that the two men had to duck their heads just a little, but wide across. Their flashlights scanned the walls and floor. McGee shined his light on the far corner. "Crime scene photos show the body right here. A tent was found not far off, shredded. Looks like an animal attack."

"How likely is that?"

"They can't determine the type of animal. Frankly I've never known of an animal that left marks like this one."

Gibbs ventured further into the cave, seeming to look for something. The soft sound of his shoes hitting the ground changed subtly to a deeper _thud,_ and he halted. McGee met his eye and when Gibbs moved to inspect the floor, he went to help. The two of them cleared away dirt and rocks, and found wood.

McGee checked the boards. "Okay," he said, "looks pretty old, but, these scrapes over here means it's been moved.

"Yeah, I see than, McGee."

"Do you…want to move it, Boss?"

Gibbs nodded and headed to one side. McGee took the other. Each found the edge of the rotting platform and moved it away. Gibbs let go when he could no longer reach farther over the exposed hole, and McGee dragged it away the last few feet. He rejoined Gibbs by the edge, and they shined their flashlights down. The shaft went gown about twelve feet and there was a questionable wooden ladder down one side.

"Boss?"

Gibbs said nothing. He was about to go down, but suddenly the two agents heard the smallest whimper from below. Immediately their guns were out and their lights were trained down. The voice cried out again and Gibbs handed McGee his light, and began to decent the ladder.

He found his footing in the dim light and gestured to McGee to toss his down. With his own light he could see the rest of the hidden alcove, and the person within. A young woman lay prone in the dirt, alive but obviously in bad shape. He holstered his gun and rushed to her, feeling her faint heartbeat and ragged breaths.

"McGee!" he called, "Call an ambulance."

McGee's affirmative response was immediate, and Gibbs went back to attending to the girl. He put a hand to her face and took a look at her. Blood and mud marred most of her features, and looking closer he tried to find the source of the blood flow. Across her arms, her lower legs and torso, there were deep, angry gashes. Claw marks. Gibbs reached for his gun again.


End file.
